This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Sheet metal stamping operations are used throughout many industries to manufacture parts. In the automotive industry, stamping presses are used to manufacture body panels and other vehicle parts. Feedstock material, such as sheet metal, is fed through the stamping press along a feed direction. As the stamping press closes on the sheet metal, a part is formed in the sheet metal in the shape of the mold that is installed in the stamping press. Such operations typically produce a web of scrap feedstock material that exits the stamping press along the feed direction. This web of scrap feedstock material may be fed into a scrap chopper for further processing. The web of scrap feedstock material is formed of the excess material that surrounds the stamped part. Typically, the web of scrap feedstock material is continuous and is shaped like a web, mesh, or ribbons. The scrap chopper has a chopper blade that moves up and down to chop or cut the web of scrap feedstock material into smaller pieces of scrap material. The smaller pieces of scrap material exit the chopper and travel down a scrap shoot. The scrap material is then discarded or recycled. In the automotive industry, such stamping operations may be performed continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
One problem that can occur during stamping operations is that the web of scrap feedstock material can jam inside the scrap chopper. When this happens, the web of scrap feedstock material is not cut by the chopper blade and accumulates inside the scrap chopper. Expensive damage to the scrap chopper and/or the stamping press can result if the problem persists and the manufacturing line is not shut down in time. Even when no equipment damage results, the down time required to clear the jam results in production loss, which can be costly. Typically, scrap feedstock material will continue to accumulate in the scrap chopper after a jam starts to occur until the manufacturing line is shut down. As a result, the amount of time required to clear a jam and the probability of equipment damage increases the longer the manufacturing line remains running after a jam starts to occur.